Aurelia Butler

Last August, it was internal-combustion-engined passenger cars. Now it’s diesel-powered HD vehicles that won’t be allowed for sale in California after a future date. In this case, it’s 2036.Some fleets will need to start their transitions next year, but the zero-emission deadlines range from 2035 for last mile and short-haul deliveries, 2039 for things like garbage trucks, and 2042 for sleeper cabs and specialty vehicles.The California Air Resource Board (CARB)’s reasons for targeting the heavy-duty sector can be summed up in two numbers: big trucks comprise only 6 percent of California’s vehicles but emit 25 percent of all on-road greenhouse gas emissions.The Golden State continues to set the pace for clean-vehicle regulation in the U.S. This week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unanimously approved a new rule to phase out sales of diesel-powered medium- and heavy-duty vehicles by 2036. This is the first such combustion-truck sales ban in the world, according to the board.The rules, called Advanced Clean Fleets, will also require fleets that operate medium-duty vehicles, those with a gross vehicle weight rating between 8501 and 14,000 pounds, and heavy-duty vehicles (over 14,000 pounds) to shift to zero-emission powertrains. These MD and HD fleets have different deadlines for when their EV transition needs to be completed.California DreamingDepending on the type of HD vehicle and where it operates, the CARB rules take effect at different times. Last-mile delivery and drayage trucks—the short-haul vehicles that often operate around port locations—must be zero-emissions by 2035. Other categories have later dates: 2039 for local work vehicles like garbage trucks and day cab tractors and 2042 for sleeper cab tractors and specialty vehicles. The rules approved last week also require reduced emissions from train locomotives in California. As with CARB’s passenger-car emissions regulations, other states may adopt California’s new clean air rules. None have yet announced that they will do so.Trucks at the Port of Oakland (CA) in March 2023.Justin Sullivan|Getty ImagesLooking to Make Transition Easier for FleetsCARB has a history, over the decades, of providing financial incentives to make the clean vehicle transition easier, in this case for truck owners and buyers. Some plug-in trucks and buses are eligible for point-of-sale discounts, for example, and there are more local and municipal clean vehicle programs in California than just about anywhere else. CARB also allows for some exemptions when the best technology available for a particular vehicle type points towards upgrading that vehicle with a new, clean engine as the best choice. And the rules do allow fleets to “continue operating existing vehicles through their useful life.”No one who was paying attention to California’s recent greenhouse-gas regulation efforts should have been surprised by Friday’s diesel vote. Recent news about the big picture— how Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to turn all trucks in the state to zero-emission by 2045—and the small details should have clued people in.”Dirty Truck Detector” Days CARB adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks rule in 2020, which set the stage for requirements for manufacturers selling more zero-emission trucks. Last month, the EPA approved the state’s request for a waiver to implement to ban HD diesel vehicles, setting up last week’s vote. Last fall, CARB ran a series of “dirty truck detector” days along popular trucking routes in the state. And, while it’s not directly tied to HD vehicles, CARB voted last August to ban sales of new combustion-engine passenger vehicles in California starting in 2035.Go with the Current California has good reason to focus on dirty emissions from large vehicles. CARB said these heavy trucks are responsible for about 25 percent of on-road greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but only make up six percent of the vehicles on California’s roads. The Advanced Clean Trucks rule aims to reduce California’s GHG emissions by 40 percent and reduce petroleum use by 50 percent by 2030. While there are obvious financial challenges to switching to zero-emission HD vehicles, CARB estimates that reduced truck pollution will result in over $26 billion in health savings while also reducing operating costs for fleet managers and truck owners by $48 billion by 2050. With all of the clean air projects in the works, CARB expects there to be around 1.7 million zero-emission trucks in California by the middle of the century.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Contributing EditorSebastian Blanco has been writing about electric vehicles, hybrids, and hydrogen cars since 2006. His articles and car reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, SAE, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets. His first green-car media event was the launch of the Tesla Roadster, and since then he has been tracking the shift away from gasoline-powered vehicles and discovering the new technology’s importance not just for the auto industry, but for the world as a whole. Throw in the recent shift to autonomous vehicles, and there are more interesting changes happening now than most people can wrap their heads around. You can find him on Twitter or, on good days, behind the wheel of a new EV.  More

McLaren is readying a hybrid successor to the P1 supercar for 2026, according to a report from Automotive News.The hybrid system in the next flagship McLaren is said to be 70 percent lighter than the current setup found in the recently launched Artura.The report also claims that a four-seat McLaren will arrive in 2028, with a hybrid follow-up to the just-revealed 750S also coming in 2026.McLaren is prepping a successor to the groundbreaking P1 hybrid supercar from 2013 (pictured above), and a new report from Automotive News asserts the automaker’s next flagship will retain a hybrid powertrain instead of going fully electric.Succeeding the P1The information regarding the next Ultimate Series model came from a global retailer meeting that took place earlier this week at the automaker’s headquarters in Woking, England and reaffirmed McLaren’s hesitancy to jump headlong into EVs.The new model—described as a Formula-1-inspired two-seater—will pair a McLaren-developed V-8 engine with a new hybrid system. The dealer sources cited by Automotive News claim the system will be 70 percent lighter than the current hybrid setup, presumably referring to the battery and electric motor in the 671-hp Artura. The sources also revealed the new setup “produces much more horsepower and delivers the power more directly to the transmission.” The hybrid McLaren Artura.McLarenThe P1 successor will allegedly be based around a new carbon-fiber monocoque with built-in seatbacks like a Formula 1 car and will also feature aerodynamics inspired by the world’s premier open-wheel racing series. Other details revealed at the meeting include the car will have a new dihedral-door design and 3D-printed suspension components. The top-of-the-line McLaren is expected to debut in 2026.Possible Four-Door McLarenThe report also divulged other future plans for the British performance-car brand, including a potential four-passenger vehicle. McLaren executives are said to have hinted there will be “another class of automobile in 2028,” suggesting it could feature four doors and four seats. This tidbit follows quotes from last year that McLaren is considering a higher-riding vehicle, although the company wouldn’t commit to calling it a crossover. McLaren’s CEO Michael Leiters joined the company last year after working on the development of the Ferrari Purosangue and Porsche Cayenne SUVs. McLaren plans to keep the recently introduced Artura on sale until at least 2030, according to the report, although other variants will likely be added along the way. The automaker just launched the new 750S, a refresh of the 720S, that had been on sale since 2017. McLaren allegedly announced at the meeting that the 750S will be replaced by a new hybrid model in 2026, crucial to the company’s plans to electrify their entire lineup by that year. More details on McLaren’s hybridized future should come in the next few years.More from McLarenThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorCaleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan. More

Built by go-karting’s founding father, Duffy Livingstone, this pieced-together hot rod has an impressive history. Brock Yates’s book, The Hot Rod: Resurrection of a Legend, follows his purchase and subsequent Pebble Beach win with the Eliminator. It’s currently up for auction on Bring a Trailer, with bidding open through May 1, 2023.Let’s connect Formula One, land speed racing, and the Pebble Beach Concours all in one car. If you expected that car to be a cobbled-together Ford Model A frame wearing bruised Model T bodywork and housing a patched-up small-block Chevy V-8 engine, well then, you’ve already read Brock Yates’s book The Hot Rod: Resurrection of a Legend. Brand: Motorbooks The Hot Rod: Resurrection of a LegendBrand: Motorbooks The Hot Rod: Resurrection of a LegendBefore we get into the hardware of this special Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is a part of the Hearst Autos group—auction, let’s introduce the main characters. Despite being listed as the “Ex-Brock Yates Ford ‘Eliminator'”, this historic hot rod was the work of a Pasadena, California-based racer named Duffy Livingstone. Livingstone is most famous as the man who gave go-karting its name. He also launched it as a mainstream activity in the late ’50s. Livingstone didn’t invent the go-kart, that’s credited to Art Ingles at the Kurtis Kraft race shop, but Livingstone locked in its moniker when he launched Go Kart Manufacturing. Bring a TrailerBefore that, Livingstone was racing a sort of full-scale go-kart in the form of a Ford T-bucket body mounted on a Model A frame. In 1950, Livingstone purchased the pile of Ford from another racer, Jay Chamberlin. (Chamberlin would go on to leave his own mark on automotive history by importing Lotus cars into California, among other things.) If you’re getting the sense that the Eliminator has touched greatness all along its journey, you’re correct. And we’re just at the start. Chamberlin lost interest in the car after a rule change occurred in the class he was building it to race in, so he passed the old Ford over to Livingstone, who cobbled it up as a jalopy sports car, initially powered by a flathead, which was later replaced by a bored-out Chevy small-block. Bring a TrailerLivingstone wasn’t alone in road racing a hot rod. Max Balchowsky’s Buick-powered “Old Yeller” cars were formidable competitors against the snooty sports car set right around the same time Livingstone was building and campaigning the Eliminator. Livingstone raced in SCCA and USAC competitions, often pitting the Eliminator against open-wheel single-seaters or fields of exotic Ferraris and Porsches. The fans and other racers often scoffed, but ol’ Duff was in on the joke. He often entered the car as a “Tihsepa Mk II” or the “Tihsepa Eliminator.” Take a second to say that to yourself backward, and you’ll also be in on the giggle. Related StoriesTihsepa it may have been, but the hot rod held its own, sometimes surprising even Livingstone. In a much-publicized sports car race in 1959, Livingstone out-qualified Jim Hall and visiting F1 racer Wolfgang Von Tripps, nearly caught up to Dan Gurney, and ended up finishing 11th overall. As his kart business grew, and race car development advanced beyond the cast-off Ford frame of a home-built hot rod, Livingstone moved on from the Eliminator, which was passed around in the scene and eventually ended up in a garage in Southern California in a state of stalled restoration. This is where Car and Driver enters the story. Bring a TrailerBrock Yates—editor extraordinaire for C/D, and no stranger to shaking up the automotive elite—saw an ad for the Ford, remembering it from his early days at the track. He made the call, connected with hot rod historian Pat Ganahl, and took on the responsibility of making it road-worthy while protecting its unique history. We could go on to tell you how Yates worked with custom car builders Pete Eastwood and Pete Chapouris at So-Cal Speed Shop (more famous fingers on the machine) and how the Eliminator eventually ended up on the lawn at Pebble Beach, but you might as well read it from the man himself. Yates wrote several articles about the Eliminator, and eventually the aforementioned book, The Hot Rod: Resurrection of a Legend.Whoever places the winning bid on the Eliminator will get more than the triple Strombergs and Halibrand quick-change rear. They’ll be the next name in a long list of influential and radical automotive trendsetters. We hope the winning bidder doesn’t turn the Eliminator into a piece of garage art, either. Brock and Duffy would frown upon it. Senior Editor, Features
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like many girls, she planned to be a vet-astronaut-artist, and came closest to that last one by attending UCLA art school. She painted images of cars, but did not own one. Elana reluctantly got a driver’s license at age 21 and discovered that she not only loved cars and wanted to drive them, but that other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant somebody had to write about them. Since receiving activation codes, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classics, car culture, technology, motorsports, and new-car reviews.    More

The 2024 Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur receive a handful of updates.The changes are mostly cosmetic, with Bentley also adding some standard features.Performance-focused Flying Spurs add the matrix grille up front and diamond-patterned stitched leather inside. Bentley is freshening up for the summer with some new grilles and a new exterior color for the 2024 Continental GT Azure and Flying Spur lineups. Taking inspiration directly from the Bentayga Azure, the 2024 Continental GT Azure lineup—meaning coupe and convertible—adds a new vertical grille at the front. BentleyIn an attempt to bring more symmetry across the Azure lineup, Bentley is also adding the multispoke 22-inch wheels from the Flying Spur as the standard wheel on the Continental GT Azure.Keeping with the tradition of updating the grille, the Flying Spur Speed and S swap out the vertical grille for the classic Bentley matrix pattern. Other updates for the Speed range include exterior trim that is now available in Granite, which, in Bentley’s eyes, bolsters the optional black-line specification to provide a more performance-inspired aesthetic. The sporty sedans also add a diamond pattern to the interior leather.BentleyA new exterior paint option called Topaz Blue joins the fray too. The brushed aluminum pieces for both the Continental GT and Flying Spur lineups are also updated. According to Bentley, the new finish requires precise brushing from multiple directions to help it achieve a contemporary three-dimensional effect. Inside, Bentley made 100 percent wool floor mats standard for Azure models. The company says only a specially selected wool variety is used due to its cleanliness and color purity. The opulence is not only reserved for Azure cars though, as the mats are available in all other models as an option. For non-wool-carpeted cars, Bentley swaps out the virgin nylon materials for a new recycled version that it promises delivers the same level of comfort and feel. More BentleyThis content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Associate News EditorJack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf. More